Title of Event: Under the Blacklight: Voices Revealed
Date & Time of Event: Monday, April 25th @ 5:00pm
Location of Event: Holmes Hall
Type of event: Studio Art Major Senior Exhibition
ArtsXpose #3
Title of Event: SMAC Student Art Show
Date & Time of Event: Thursday April 14th, 2022
Location of Event: Samek Art Museum
Type of event: Art Gala Opening
Art 21 assignment 2
The first artist whose work I watched was Kevin Beasley. Kevin’s work deals with confronting the history and dark past associated with who you are and your identity, specifically the history of slaves and black americans. He rejects the notion of “moving on” and “forgetting” simply because it was so long ago. He challenges the viewer to confront the American south for what it was and how those effects are still seen and heard today. He deals with not only what history looks like in the material sense but what it sounds like. His work is a powerful confrontation with the daily lives of people who lived not so long ago. The second artist I watched was Doreen Garner, another black American whose work deals with racial relations in this country. Her work is disturbing in physical nature and is mostly very realistic, skin-like body parts bloody and sewn together. Like Kevin, a large part of her work deals with the slave trade and how that history has shaped all of us. It was interesting to hear her talk about how since she has shifted to dealing more with whiteness as opposed to blackness, she has been getting less of a reaction and her art hasn’t been selling. She grapples with what that says about the art world and whether she feels more at home as a sculptor in a material sense or as a tattoo artist personally with the community. The last artist who I explored was Leonardo Drew who focuses on the importance of travel and his work is largely a reaction and an outward expression of his experiences. All three artist as black americans all have one thing in common: their work is an expression of how they see the world whether it is challenging history, confronting the realities of one’s identity, or turning views into sculpture.
Project 3 topic
My question is a question is one I struggle with every day: “when we all fall asleep where do we go?”
I chose this not only to keep with my theme of death, but because it really is something that runs my mind and something I feel I can put my all into because it is something I feel like I need an artistic outlet for. Since the second we were given our sneak peak on this project I knew I wanted to do this question and I already had a vision in my brain for what I wanted to make. I think this has a dual meaning- it can be literal or metaphorical. It can be literal in the sense of when we fall asleep at night what happens to our minds? Why we sleep and dream and where dreams come from are topics that scientists are still struggling with. I have extremely vivid dreams that feel so real that sometimes I don’t know whether or not it was real. It is so fascinating that our brain plays mind games with itself and cannot even distinguish if the things it created are real or not. It can also be metaphorical in the sense of death- what happens to us after death is a question humans have tried to answer since the beginning of our existence. Almost or every single culture on earth has an explanation for what happens to us when we pass on and leave this earth. What does it feel like, is there heaven or afterlife, does it hurt? I have an irrational fear of death and I think having my art centered around it is my way of coping and facing it and somehow creating my own explanation that is comforting to me. I would say 10 things: bed, tombstone, heaven, hell, ghost, pain, ground, screams, dreams, and darkness.
Art21 Contemporary Sculpture Assignment
For this assignment I watch videos on Marela Zacarias, Kara Walker, and Sarah Sze. Off the bat, I really like all of these artists’ works because they are very personal to them and are in some way a reflection of how they view themselves, their history, and the world around them. What I really liked about Marela Zacarias’s work was that it included both the organic form in the shape of the sculpture itself and geometric shapes painted on. I would find such tedious painting in tight crevices very frustrating but she makes it look beautiful and effortless. Kara Walker’s work was very powerful because a lot of it has to do with taking back her identity as a black woman and black history in the United States. What I found super interesting was that she made sugar sculptures in an old sugar factory that would melt over time and be demolished with the building at the end of the show. Out of the three, Sarah Sze’s work was my least favorite because it seemed more like putting objects together in an organized chaos rather than creating something original but it was still super fascinating to hear about how she views the world.
ArtsXpose 2 (Olivia Bongiovi)
Title of Event: Simulations by Angela Meckley
Date & Time of Event: Tuesday March 8th 1pm
Location of Event: Holmes Hall
Type of event: Senior show
ArtsXpose 1 (Olivia Bongiovi)
Title of Event: Indigenous Artist Talk
Date and time of event: Monday March 7th 6 pm
Location of Event: Weis Center
Type of Event: Guest Artist Lecture
1.) Provide a brief detail-oriented technical description or summary of the event you attended. (This section should remain journalistic and should not be reflective of your opinion.)
Sierra is a member of the Navajo Nation, an artist, competetive dancer, and Biology Masters student. She spoke about her art for about an hour. The general theme of the art was explore connections between and meanings behind her ceramic work, dance regalia designs, family, animals, science, and purpose. I have included a picture of her speaking but given the personal nature of the art and the feeling in the room it did not feel appropriate to get into the art with a camera or take a selfie. Growing up Sierra was told stories about animals and how they created the world and that shaped how she saw life- through animals. She went through a few different majors before landing back in a huge part of her heritage: ceramics. She began reconnecting with animals and henceforth her work centered on animals. She also began adding animals to her competitive dance shawls. She began to identify with the magpie and has a magpie sculpture titled ”Self Portrait”. As she grows older she wants to be more grounded and intentional with her life and so she has begun identifying with ”Grandmother Spider”, a character from one of her childhood stories.
2.) Use the section below to write a well-structured paragraph focusing on your personal criticalinsight / response to the event. How did you interpret or react to what was presented to you?
I personally am most drawn to art that has a deep personal connection to the artist which is why I think I connected with Sierra story and artwork so much. I really enjoyed it. Sierras work, both ceramic and shawls, was beautiful, had an immense level of craft, and was so touching. I cannot wait to see what she does in art, dance, and biology next. It was deeply moving how connected she was to animals and how she saw the world. I also very much relate to her story of going through differnt paths before landing at what she was meant to do.
3.) What information, ideas, images, etc. most impressed you and why?
I was most impressed by her openness with the audience and her transparency with the meanings. She became very choked up at times but was so eager to share. I also loved her compassion and enthusiasm in sharing her heritage. Many people in the east are not very familiar with indigenous or native American culture and it was awesome to get insight into how she grew up.
4.) Overall, how would you rate this event (10 being the most worthwhile)?
(10 / 9 / 8 / 7 / 6 / 5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1 )
Nine
5.) Justify your rating in the question above:
I think for she was a very personal speaker and I took away a valuable message that I have been going through in my own life: don’t regret anything that has happened because it led you to this point. What holds it back from being a 10 (and this is not her fault) but I wish it was in an actual gallery somewhere on campus where it can be properly displayed and not just in the Weis Lobby.
Proj 2 Sketch
I do not have five sketches but only one because I have an extremely vivid picture in my mind of exactly what I want to make.
Proj 2 Part 3
Lilly Dawson, Project 2 Spring 2019
The whole Folklore album by Taylor Swift is extremely meaningful to me (I even have a tattoo in reference one of the songs) and I knew I wanted to do something in theme with my skeletons and about actively trying every single day. This idea literally just came to me when I was looking at previous projects and I saw Lillys. I think I want to do wood but defiantly taking inspiration from the form.
Proj 2 Part 1
I really want to play off of this quote by Taylor Swift when she was talking about her song this is me trying: “I’ve been thinking about addiction and I’ve been thinking about people who.. if they are either suffering through mental illness or they are suffering through addiction or.. they have an everyday struggle. No one pats them on the back everyday. Everyday they are actively fighting something, but there are so many days where nobody gives them credit for that. And so how often must somebody who is in that sort of internal struggle must wanna say to everyone in the room ‘you have no idea how close I am to going back to a dark place’ or ‘you have no idea’.”
I want my shrine to focus on every day picking up the pieces of your life and actively fighting your demons. As someone who struggles with mental illness but is very good at acting normal this is very personal to me. Every single day I have to fight to take care of myself, fight to make my bed, fight to put things away. I am actively trying everyday to put the pieces of my life together and as Taylor said, no one gives you a pat on the back. In keeping with my theme of skeletons, I want to show a skeleton that has fallen apart and is putting itself back together. I would say that this shrine is a way of patting myself on the back but I think it could also speak to others who may not even realize that they are putting themselves back together and how hard that is and deserving of a pat on the back.